In the Cover of Night
by PirateoftheCaribbean1720
Summary: After being rescued by a member of the infamous assassin group Night Raid, a young man seeking to become a soldier of the Empire soon discovers what dark secrets the Imperial Capital truly holds and what evil he could've potentially became a part of. Akame x OC (Criticism would be appreciated to improve and keep the story going). Set before the events of the anime.
1. In the Dark of Night

In the cover of the forests, a lone figure walked down the old gravel road. He had on a grey coat over a white shirt, his legs sporting blue pants and black military style boots. Strapped to his back was a curved weapon wrapped in brown fabric. He had white messy hair that went down his neck, reaching his shoulders. As he stopped, he reached up and plucked a black cigarette from his lips, exhaling a thick smoky breath as he looked up through the canopy of trees. his eyes were that of an icy blue, gleaming like jewels as he watched the birds flying in the sky. The clouds were like fluffy bundles of cotton that were suspended amidst the blue atmosphere. He sighed softly as he returned the cigarette to his mouth, resuming his walk as the gravel crunched beneath his boots with every step he made.

 _"Well, only a few more days 'till I reach the Capital."_ he thought to himself. He had left the village he grew up in only five days ago, desiring to join the Imperial Army from the skills he had obtained after intense training he went through under the guidance of a veteran soldier. Though he knew he had a lot more to learn during recruitment, the Danger Beasts he encountered along the way only sharpened his reflexes more.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box of smokes he had. Upon opening the lid, he frowned. "Damn..." he muttered. He had only one left. "Better make this one last." he said looking to the one he was enjoying currently, stuffing the carton back into his pocket.

He soon stopped in his tracks as he could faintly hear the hooves of horses trampling the ground. He slowly turned around and saw a pair of horses in front of a covered merchant's wagon. He smiled a bit and stepped off the road as they neared him, eventually slowing down. Once they came to a stopped, a young man looked to him. "You need any help, sir?" he asked.

The merely 18 year old boy shook his head. "I'm fine." he said.

"You heading to the Capital?" he asked.

"What made you guess that?" he asked looking to the merchant with his blue eyes.

"You've packed up a lot just for a walk."

The boy smiled. "Well, I'm thinking on joining the military."

"Oh really? Well, I certainly wish you luck on that." the merchant said with a small smile.

"Well, thanks. I'm sure I can learn more in the Imperial Army." he said as he took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a thin wispy smoke.

The merchant nodded. "Well, if you want a quicker route, take a left on the fork coming up here, and it'll take a day and a half off your trip."

He looked down that way and nodded. "Well, I'll certainly take that advice. Thank you sir."

"Say, what's your name?" he asked.

He finished taking another drag and lowered the cigarette, looking back to the merchant. "Name's Ryota." he said.

"Well, Ryota, I certainly hope you get accepted into the Imperial Army and do the Emperor proud. I wish you a safe journey."

The boy smirked. "Oh don't worry. I got all the protection I need." he said.

The merchant then bade him farewell as he urged the horses onward, travelling down the road and towards. The young man watching them as he took a final puff from his cigarette and took it between his fingers, dropping it to the gravel and stamping it out with his foot, continuing on down the road as midday eventually shifted into the evening.

* * *

 _Later that night..._

Ryota rested in a small area in the middle of the forest, leaning against a tree after starting a roaring fire. He unpacked a blanket, a pan, and some meat he had harvested from a Danger Beast he had killed earlier that day. He then cooked the meat in the pan, checking it at times to see if it was finished. He smiled as he could smell the aroma of the meat cooking over the fire, making his stomach rumble as he went the day without eating much.

As he finally finished, letting the meat cool down before indulging on his meal, he felt a strange presence. As if he was being watched by someone. He looked up, his eyes darting around into the darkness, seeing no one in sight. It wasn't until he heard rustling up above him, looking up as a few leaves fell from the branch over him. He then reached for the cloth wrapped weapon, revealing it to be a sword upon unwrapping it. To be specific, it was a pure white katana, the handle wrapped in white leather as the wood was colored black. He then crawled away from the spot under the tree, unsheathing the sword, which was revealed to have a gleaming blade with an ice blue edge.

"Show yourself!" he shouted as he looked around, only to hear nothing but silence. He looked back up to where he heard the rustling, only to see a shadow and a pair of eyes. A pair of red eyes. He blinked as he was sure this was possibly a Danger Beast that caught the scent of the meat, but his theory was soon put to rest as the shadow quickly dashed off and vanished. He quickly looked around and got on his feet.

Silence...Nothing but silence, other than the sounds of the crackling fire.

He drew a deep sigh as he returned to his spot beneath the tree, returning to eat his dinner and relax to get some sleep for the night, though he'd be sleeping with his weapon beside him. As he took a bite of the meat, he chewed slowly as he kept looking around in the dark, still having the unsettling feeling.

 _"No worry...if someone or something tries to surprise me, I'll cut it to ribbons..."_ He thought to himself.

 _An hour later_

Ryota was asleep as he suddenly heard distant screaming, waking him from his slumber. He blinked and looked around, seeing barely anything since his fire was out and the moon shone down through the trees. He quickly got up and grabbed his sword, running to the source.

Eventually he reached the place on the gravel road where the screaming came from, only to find the wagon of the merchant he spoke to the day before, wrecked and the cover torn to shreds. "What the hell..." he said softly as he walked further to investigate. "Hello?" he called out as he looked around the wagon. Soon enough, on the wooden side and on the canvas, he saw a splatter of fresh blood. He backed up as he saw the gruesome sight. He went around to the other side, only to find much worse. In a pool of blood on the ground, the remaining parts of merchant remained, his head looking to the sky as his eyes were wide open, blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth as his face was frozen in an eternal scream. Ryota gasped as he saw the dismembered remains of the unfortunate soul, assuming that there was probably a predator close by. Knowing there was probably nothing he could do, he immediately starting his way down the road, losing track of where he ran from the woods and deciding it would be too dangerous to try and get his things from his campsite.

He didn't get far however. A few hundred feet down the road, he was soon confronted by a pack of hound like Danger Beasts, a glowing black aura emanating from their bodies as their eyes glowed a fiery red. Ryota quickly drew his sword, trying to assess the situation at hand as he had done time and time before.

 _"Alright...I'm being attacked by four hounds...odds of my survival are half and half."_ He thought as he watched a pair circled him, staring at their prey with murderous intents, his eyes watched them as they plotted out their attack.

In a quick flash, one jumped towards Ryota. He acted quick and dashed to the side, making a quick slice the side of the creature. The Danger Beast landed on its feet, turning around as blood leaked from its side. Ryota only smirked as he waited for the effects.

Suddenly, the bloodflow slowed and eventually stopped as the hound suddenly coughed, its fur covered body shook as the blood in its veins froze. It didn't take long before the creature fell over, frost covering some features of its face and paws as tufts of its fur turned white all over. Ryota heard another charge him, only to react by making a turn and slicing upwards, cutting the beast in half. But, as he heard another coming, he saw a gleam of steel rain down, piercing the top of the huge canine's skull and the point emerging from under its jaw, killing it and causing the creature to fall and skid to Ryota's feet. He looked up and saw the red handle of a katana, a white strip with markings ran up the side of the handle. All of a sudden, a shadow came down from the sky. It landed in front of him, plucking the sword from the creature's corpse. Turns out it was a woman, wearing a black minidress with a red tie, her arms and hands were clad in red arm guards. Her black hair went past her shoulders, reaching to about her waist. As she turned to Ryota, the color of her eyes were a deep red. It didn't take long for him to realize that they were like the eyes he saw earlier that night.

"Who are-" he asked as he was interrupted by the Danger Beast that charged them. However, she didn't seem the least bit concerned, lifting her sword and taking a stance. As quick as a flash, it took one strike from her to bisect the creature. Ryota could only watch as he saw another charge from behind towards her. "Look o-"

She quickly jumped up and made a downward cut, the blade cutting through the head of the beast like butter. As the creature fell dead, she looked back to Ryota, her eyes seemed blank.

Ryota looked back, curious as to who this person was. But before he could ask, the woman suddenly shouted with a concerned expression. "LOOK OUT!"

He turned around, but didn't have enough time to defend himself as another dog like Danger Beast swiped at his chest with its long black claws, leaving inch deep gashes instead of tearing his flesh away. Ryota gasped as he backed up, feeling weak despite the slow blood loss that turned his tattered white shirt red. He fell to his knees as he looked up, seeing the beast snarl, showing knifelike teeth as it drooled, ready to rip him apart and feast upon his carcass.

But before it got a chance to pounce, there was a cutting sound as Ryota saw a gleam of metal run down along the creature's side. The Danger Beast paused for a second, only for the top half of its body to fall off, the lower half tumbling to the ground. IT had been cut clean in half, between the lower and upper jaw.

Ryota breathed, but then fell to his back, staring at the star filled sky, able to see the full moon from the top corner of his right eye. He blinked as he breathed steadily, but feeling the warmth of his blood on his chest.

"Well..." he said, unable to finish his sentence as he then passed out, seeing nothing but black.

* * *

It was morning. The light shone in through the open window of a house. Laying in a bed, Ryota slowly began to wake up, opening his eyes to slits as he looked over to the open window. He could see a bird hop around on the window sill, chirping as it then flew away. He then looked to the ceiling, blinking as he tried sitting up, only to be met with a sharp pain. "OW!" he groaned through his teeth, seeing that his torso had been bandaged.

He sighed as he looked to his left, only to be a bit surprised when he saw a girl with long purple hair, wearing a purple dress. Her arms clad in what looked like light purple sleeves. She was asleep, leaning over onto the bed while she was sitting in a chair. Ryota blinked as he saw her stir a bit and then yawn softly. She looked up to him, revealing her gleaming purple eyes. "Oh. You're awake." he said as she sat up, stretching a bit.

He just watched her, eventually seeing something out of the corner of his eyes. It was a pair of glasses sitting on a shelf by the bed. He reached over and looked at them, seeing they had a purple frame. He then realize that they were hers. "Here you are." he said as he handed them to her. She seemed to squint a bit before taking them gingerly from his hands, putting them on. She smiled cheerfully to him. "Thank you." she said.

He then tried swinging his legs out of bed, only to be put down again by the pain. "Please, you must rest." the girl said, softly pushing him down.

"Where am I?" he asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sheele." she spoke in a soft and kind of shy tone. "And you're somewhere safe."

He blinked. "Somewhere safe huh? Where's _"Somewhere safe"_?" he asked.

She leaned back up. "You'll know later. First I have to tell the boss that you're awake." she said as she got up and left.

"Wait. Boss?" he asked, still a bit confused. As the door shut, he groaned and laid back down, sighing.

"Well, so much for-" he then heard the door open again, this time seeing a familiar face. The one who saved him from the pack of Danger Beasts. The mysterious woman.

"You."

* * *

 **Sup Guys,**

 **So I've just decided to write this since I've been watching the anime (Love it btw), and this is my first fanfic, well for the anime that is, and if you guys want to R &R for this, criticism would help the story further on.**

 **So hope you enjoyed the first part, next part should come up soon.**


	2. The Assassins

"Hmm?" the girl replied. She was dressed in her same black minidress, but she had on a white apron, her long black hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a plate of food in her hands.

"You! You're the one who-OW!" Ryota exclaimed, leaning up, only to be met with the same sharp pains again, forcing him to lay back down. "You're the one who appeared out of nowhere."

She walked over and sat down in the chair which was previously occupied by Sheele. "Lean up, but slowly. You must eat." she said.

"I know it's gonna hurt but..." he then did so, inching up as the pain became mild, but bearable. He saw on the plate that there was rice, cooked meat, and bread. Just something simple. Ryota could smell it clear as day, finding the aroma quite appetizing. "Smells goo-"he was then interrupted when this girl shoved a chopstick full of rice into his mouth.

"Eat. Get your strength back up." she said as she handed him the plate. He gingerly took it and chewed the mouthful he had, swallowing and continuing to eat as the girl watched him, apparently wanting to make sure he had eaten all of it.

"You still haven't told me who you are." Ryota stated as he took a bite of the beef.

"All will be cleared up when you get dressed and you talk with the boss." she said, her red eyes seemed cold and emotionless.

"That's what the other girl said but...alright. I'm willing to play along with it." he said as he kept quiet and resumed eating.

All of a sudden, the door opened and a blonde with two long bangs walked in. "Hey Akame, how's he doin- oh hey! You're up little guy." she said smiling to Ryota.

He stopped and could just only look at her. She was wearing a nothing but a scarf, a black tube top, pants, and boots. He blinked. "Uhh...who else am I gonna meet here?" he asked. "And who are you calling little guy?" he asked, cocking a brow.

She laughed a bit, turning her attention to the red eyed girl. "Hey, boss needs us." she said as she turned to walk out. She nodded as she got up to leave with her, shutting the door as she left.

And there Ryota was left alone again. He sighed as he still didn't get answers to anything, but he did get the name of the mystery girl.

Akame.

But he still was curious as to who the hell their boss was.

* * *

 _Later..._

Ryota had finished eating and had gotten dressed, despite the pain. He ventured out of his room, walking down a set of stairs, eventually reaching what looked like a great hall. He looked around as he heard voices, but saw no one there. After walking around a bit, he saw a red banner over what looked like a padded chair. The banner had a depiction of what looked like a black owl and a yellow moon. There was yellow print below the symbol reading:

 _ **Night Raid**_

 _"Night Raid...why does that sound so familiar?"_ Ryota thought to himself as he looked upon the insignia. He thought nothing of it and then continued on, walking towards the source of the voices.

* * *

It didn't take him long to reach a dining hall, opening the door to a crack as he saw Akame and the blonde talking with a woman dressed in black. She had short hair, colored like silver, her right eye covered by an eyepatch. But a bit of a shock came when she turned, revealing her right arm to be all mechanical. _"What happened to her...?"_ he wondered.

All of a sudden, the blonde sensed a presence, looking over her shoulder. "Hey, boss. I think the new kid's peeping on us." she said looking to the silver haired woman.

Ryota then quickly got out of view, standing against the wall in the corridor. "Oh crap..." he squeaked. He had to make a getaway, somehow. But as he turned to leave, if he could ever find an exit, be bumped into a man.

It was a young man, dressed in a green coat. His green hair was short, but covered partial of his eyes. His hands looked as if they had gloves, but Ryota could see a glint on his fingers. _"Are those...wires?"_ He thought.

"Well, who might you be?" he asked.

Ryota backed up a bit, but not before backing into something soft. He slowly looked up, finding himself backed against the blonde's cleavage. He then jumped away with a yelp, only for the girl to grab a hold of his coat, dragging him into the dining room. The green haired boy shook his head as he walked in behind them, shutting the door in the process.

* * *

"So this is the one you saved, Akame?" the silver haired woman asked, a black cigarette in the corner of her mouth.

Akame replied with a nod.

The woman looked back to Ryota with her purple eye. "So, who are you, young man?" she asked as she blew out a smoky breath as she plucked the cigarette from her mouth with the use of her mechanized arm, which seemed to function like a normal arm.

"I'm Ryota, ma'am." he said. "Um...you guys aren't gonna...kill me...right?" he asked as he saw the three people, excluding the woman, sitting down in chairs at a large rectangular table, looking to him.

She smirked and placed the cigarette back between her lips, inhaling as the end glowed a yellowish red. "No we're not going to kill you." she said as some smoke came out as she spoke, the rest being exhaled.

"..." he was still silent, a bit relieved that she said they wouldn't do any harm to him.

"Unless you try to escape, that is." she added, which only made Ryota turn pale.

"Oh, wonderful." he said sarcastically. "Why so though?"

"Because you would know the location of our hideout and probably try to report this information to the Army." the woman said as she sat down, Ryota couldn't help but notice her mechanical right arm.

"But we won't have to if you do one thing." the blonde said with her arms crossed, leaning a bit back in her chair.

Ryota looked to her. "And what would that be?" he asked.

"Join us." the silver haired woman said.

"Join what exactly?" he asked.

"The Revolutionary Army." the woman said as she blew smoke.

* * *

"So...you all are assassins?" Ryota asked the blonde, now known as Leone, as she showed him around the compound.

"That's right. And only the best in the Capital division." she said as they both walked down a corridor. "We're known to the public as Night Raid, only because we attack at night."

"Makes sense enough." he said with a nod. "That explains why I thought that banner was familiar."

"The one over boss's chair?" she asked as she glanced to him with her golden eyes.

He nodded in response. "I also never expected that General Najenda would be the one in charge of a group of assassins." he said, as he had heard of her in his village.

"She defected after she discovered the true nature of the Empire. Her troops that were under her command left as well, and that's where the Rebel Army started." Leone said.

Ryota could hear slashing, eventually walking to the one of the many windows along the wall to see a courtyard. There, he could see Akame, using that familiar katana to cut down practice dummies. He was curious about her, why she seemed so cold.

"Ryota." Leone said, causing him to look back to her. "Akame hasn't always been the way she is."

"Really? Why is she the way she is now?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later on down the road, now come on. You still haven't met the rest of the team!" she seemed to say with glee.

"I'm still wondering how you could still be so cheerful." he muttered as he followed her, glancing back down below to Akame one last time before continuing to walk with Leone, heading up into the forest not far from the compound.

* * *

Along a cliff at the edge of the woods, a pink haired girl, her hair tied in twin tails, was setting up what looked like a sniper stand for a large gun-like weapon. She got into position, laying on the ground with the butt of the gun against her shoulder, looking through the scope with her pink eyes. Closing one, she scoped out a target she had set up in a canyon almost a mile away. She concentrated, making sure she was right on target. She had her finger on the trigger, narrowing her eye a bit as she slowly pulled.

"Hey, Mine!" Leone shouted, causing the short girl to jump and fire the gun with a huge blast of energy, missing her target by a mere few inches. Looking through her scope, she groaned in annoyance as she saw she missed.

"Damn it, Leone!" she snapped, standing up with her weapon. She then turned to the much taller woman. "You made me mi-..." she then noticed Ryota, who was obviously startled from the sudden blast of energy the weapon shot.

"Who's this?" she asked pointing to him.

"This," Leone said walking to him, "is a new member of the team. Ryota, this is Mine, our self proclaimed 'genius sniper'."

"Uh...hi?" he said.

She smirked and shook her head, walking past them. "He won't last a week." she said as she shouldered the gun, heading back to the compound.

Ryota just blankly watched her. "..."

"Ah, don't mind her, that's her way of saying hello. She's really nice once you get to know her." Leone said.

Ryota just looked at her. "Like you said about Akame, huh?" he asked.

"Well, just give it time, that is if you want to join us." she said as she walked ahead, Ryota following her as they both headed back for the compound. "Oh, and you still haven't met Bulat."

"Who's he?" Ryota asked as birds flew overhead.

* * *

Not long after returning to the compound, Leone led Ryota down to the courtyard where he saw Akame cutting down the dummies. In the center of the courtyard, swinging a staff with swift expertise, a very muscular man with a thick head of black hair, which resembled a heard shaped pompadour. Ryota saw that he was very tall as well, which was one thing he never favored in any fight, a larger opponent.

"Hey Bulat!" Leone called out to him. Bulat stopped as sweat dripped from his chin. He stood back up and looked to the two. "Oh, hey Leone. This the new guy?" he asked as he walked to them.

"Yep. This is Ryota. Ryota, this is Bulat" she said. Bulat held out his hand with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Ryota." he said as Ryota took his invitation and shook his hand.

"Oh yeah, by the way, he's gay." Leone said.

Ryota immediately jumped back upon hearing that statement.. "Hey, come on Leone. Don't give him the wrong idea..." Bulat then looked to Ryota with a grin. "Yet."

 _"Actually, I can think of several wrong ideas."_ he thought.

* * *

 _Later that night..._

Ryota was asked to join the rest of the team in the great hall to discuss further plans involving him. Walking down to the hall, he saw that everyone was present, Najenda sat in her chair. He soon noticed that Akame had a hold of his sword. "Why does she have my sword?" he asked Najenda.

"Well, when you passed out, Akame noticed one of the Danger Beasts you killed was covered in frost. Dead from one cut." she said as she looked to the white sheathed sword. "When she brought you back here, she presented it to me and we examined it further. Turns out, Ryota," she said as she looked to him with her purple eye, "you are in possession of what seems to be an Imperial Arm."

Ryota seemed a bit confused. "An Imperial Arm?" he asked. "My grandfather had that sword for years. I found it after he died in a box given to my father before he left for the Imperial Army."

Najenda then handed him a book which Ryota took from her hand into his, opening it and looking through. What he saw were different types of weapons, Imperial Arms. "Ryota, the Imperial Arms are very powerful weapons, made a thousand years ago by the First Emperor of the Empire, who feared that the empire he created would eventually fall. Originally, they were made from different elements, some were made from the remains of Danger Beasts with unique powers and many weapon-like arms were made from a rare metal called Orichalcum. In total, there were 48 Imperial Arms, but when the war civil came five hundred years later, many of them were scattered and lost. Only about half are known to still exist, a few of them are the main weapons of our assassins here in Night Raid."

Najenda then looked to the members, first starting with Akame. "I'm sure you're familiar with Akame's sword, the One Hit Killer: Murasame, a weapon that is a cursed blade. If you're even scratched by the blade, its poison will kill you in seconds." Ryota then remembered the red handled katana, seeing the writing on the strip of white.

"Mine's Pumpkin is a gun-type Imperial Arms capable of shooting energy in a concentrated shockwave. The power is dependent on how much in danger the user is. The more danger she's in, the more powerful the weapon becomes."

"Bulat wields the Demon Armor: Incursio, giving the user enhanced strength, speed, and agility. The armor is made from the flesh of a Danger Beast named the Tyrant, rendering the armor nearly indestructible. In a normal form, it simply takes on the appearance of a sword, but when released, the user is completely enveloped in the armor."

"Lubbock's is the Imperial Arm, Cross Tail. This is a weapon which consists of threads able to be used in various ways to attack, defend, or render opponents defenseless. Primarily, Cross Tail is used to create perimeters and trip wires that could be used to detect any enemies, but the threads can be used in ways such as forming weapons." She said as Lubbock held up his left hand, displaying his glove like weapon.

"Sheele's weapon are the Shears of Creation: Extase, an Imperial Arms which take the form of a par of giant scissors, able to cut through anything since the blades are extremely sharp. Even Incursio can be cut by the blades of Extase."

Ryota looked through the book, hearing Najenda as she spoke. "So you're saying that my grandpa's sword-"

"-Is an Imperial Arm." Akame finished. He looked to her as he heard her.

"So what? I can assure you that you're not taking it away." he said.

"Well, if we have to, we can certainly confiscate it for the benefit to the Revolutionary Army." Najenda said lighting a cigarette.

"Like hell you-" he was interrupted when he was met with the blade of Akame's sword, only inches away from his chest.

"But there's an alternative to that." Najenda added as smoke poured from her nostrils. "You can join us and use your weapon for the benefit of ridding the scum of the Empire and help the Rebel cause."

"So, you're asking me to join?" he asked.

"Well, it's either that or-"

"I know, death." Ryota interrupted. "I heard it plenty of times."

"Well, actually we won't kill you, but you'll work in our factory." Najenda finished.

"How's that any better?" he asked.

"Well, you won't be killed." Najenda said.

Ryota looked to Akame, who's eyes seemed to have a stern emotion for the situation at hand. He then looked back to Najenda. "So join a league of assassins whose mission is to liberate the people under oppression? Well, you all sound like heroes." he said, only to be met with laughter.

Leone regained her composure and looked to Ryota, an ominous shadow seemed to cover over her golden eyes. "Ryota, no matter what way you slice it, we're still murderers." she said.

"But we're murdering people who are wicked and corrupt." Lubbock said.

"That oppress the civilians of the Empire." Bulat finished.

Ryota listened to the two, seeming to be conflicted. He never felt oppressed by anyone, yet he hadn't been to the Capital itself, so it was a fifty-fifty chance they could all be making this up or it may all be the truth. However, there was a certain curiosity that made him wonder.

 _"Helping the innocent by killing the oppressive...what kind of justice system is that...Is that right?"_ he thought more to himself. Eventually, thinking over everything. Of course he thought oppressing innocent civilians is wrong, but did it justify by killing the oppressors?

He then looked back up to Najenda, who awaited an answer as she smoked the black cigarette. "Miss Najenda..." he started.

Everyone seemed in tune to what he was about to say next, well, except for Akame who had the sword still to his chest.

"I'm in." he said.

Akame then lowered the sword, sheathing it as she handed the white katana to Ryota. He took it and nodded to her.

"Excellent." she said as she finished the cigarette, putting it out by crushing it in the palm of her mechanical hand. "Prepare to experience a life like no other, Ryota. Welcome to the Revolutionary Army." she said as she stood.

"And welcome to Night Raid." she walked past everyone. "You're all dismissed for the night."

* * *

 **Well, that's the end of the second part.**

 **Dunno if I quite got the characters right so...if I messed up, let me know and I'll edit.**

 **btw, I'm sorry but I had to use the gag Leone pulled on Tatsumi when he met Bulat. Hate all you want but I thought it was hilarious.**

 **So next chapter to come up soon. Stay tuned!**

 **Later.**


	3. A Walk in the Woods

**Hey guys,**

 **Sorry for the late upload, I've been quite busy with other things and if the chapter is a bit short and sloppily written, I'll make up for it in the next chapter.**

 **So I hope y'all enjoy. Got any suggestions or spot any mistakes needing correction, just R &R plz. Thanks.**

* * *

The next morning, Ryota stirred in his bed, rolling onto his side, facing the window. He could see the morning light through the skin of his eyelids, groaning as he then rolled onto his back, opening his eyes a bit, only to see a blurred shadow face to face with him. He blinked a few more times, eventually beginning to see more clearly. Sure enough, it was the red eyed Akame leaning over him. Ryota blinked again.

"Uh...hi?" he said.

"Good. You're awake." she said in her cold monotone.

"And I wish I really wasn't..." he said. _"Plus I kind of didn't want to wake up seeing you hovering over my bed..."_ he thought.

"You need to get dressed. The boss wants to experiment with your Imperial Arms." Akame said before handing him a set of fresh new clothes.

He sat up and took the folded clothes, rubbing his eye with his right hand as he watched her leave. He shook his head and then proceeded to get dressed.

* * *

 _An hour later..._

Ryota and Akame were in the forests not far from the hideout, walking through the brush as they were looking for targets. In this case, Najenda wanted Akame to observe the effects of the Imperial Arms that Ryota had. She had initially theorized that the sword was similar to Akame's sword, Murasame, killing with one cut. But instead of poison being the cause of death, whatever the blade contained would freeze the blood throughout the body of whoever or whatever would be so unfortunate as to be cut by the blade, if not turn the victim's entire body into ice.

Ryota looked around, seeing only trees and hearing nothing but the birds chirping. He looked to Akame, only for her to look back to him with her crimson eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh uh...nothing..." he said looking back ahead.

"You seem troubled." she said.

" _Yeah, no kidding._ " he thought to himself, unwittingly not knowing that he had said that out loud.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing." he said. A bit of an awkward silence ensued between them. Not long into their walk, he glanced at her sword, Murasame.

"Is it true that your sword kills with just one cut?" he asked, curious about the power of the Imperial Arm.

"Yes. Its curse will flow into the veins of anyone or anything that is even scratched by the blade. However, wielding such a powerful weapon has its advantages and drawbacks." she said as she walked.

"Drawbacks? Like what?"

"It's almost impossible to clean."

Ryota blinked, nodding a bit. "Easy to understand when it comes to that."

"Yet, I don't know the Trump card of my own weapon." she said.

"Trump card?"

"It's the hidden ability of almost every Imperial Arm. For example, Incursio has the trump card of invisibility." she answered.

Ryota then looked to the weapon on his back, wondering if the sword itself had a trump card. "Interesting..."

All of a sudden, she held her arm out, which was clad in her red gauntlet, stopping him in his tracks. "What is-"

"Listen." she said quietly.

They listened, and sure enough, there were the sounds of voices not far away. Akame then jumped up onto a low hanging tree branch, climbing up to the top with the best view of the area around them. She looked off to a road not far from their location, seeing a group of Imperial soldiers heading to what would be the direction of the compound. She narrowed her eyes slightly, dropping down in front of Ryota. "Imperial soldiers. And it looks like they're looking for the hideout."

"Well, maybe they won't find it." Ryota said, sure enough that they'd probably get lost before they'd ever stumble across the hideout.

"Still. They're too close to it." she said. "Even if they see us, they'll know hey hideout is near."

"And I assume that's a bad thing." he said.

"Very bad." she said, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Whoa whoa wait." he said. "You're not going to kill them are you?"

"It must be done in order to keep our base location hidden." she said. But before Ryota could speak again, she dashed off to confront the soldiers, with seemingly lightning speed. He immediately went after her, running as quick as he could.

* * *

As the soldiers walked along the road in the midst of the trees, a few had a feeling that they were being watched. It was when a shadow dropped down from the trees in front of the group that their suspicions were correct. The long haired being looked up to them, gleaming red eyes stared at them. In its right hand, the long blade of a katana gleamed in the sunlight that shone through the leaves.

"It's her! Akame of Night Raid!" one said.

"She's a pretty thing. Pity she's gotta die." another jeered.

Akame wasn't phased by their words as she stood up, the light completely revealing her.

"Personally, I think we ought to play around with her before taking her head to the Em-" one said stepping forward to her, only to be cut off.

With quick speed, Akame unsheathed her sword and made a slice to the man before her. He only cringed as he felt burning pain in his neck, a spray of red erupting from a deep cut. The other men watched him fall to his knees and then to the ground, his body twitching.

The men watched as she returned to her normal stance, her eyes slightly narrowed. The soldiers armed themselves, but the seasoned assassin was far too quick for them, dashing in between and landing blows on half the group. The ones only cut by the blade cringed as they felt the power of the curse flowing through their body. Markings slowly branched out from the cut and all over their limbs and torso, finally causing their deaths as they all fell to the ground.

The ones that were at the back quickly ran off as they found their chance to escape, only for them to be picked off one by one by Akame, who was sure not to let any of them escape. The men fell one by one as they fell victim to the curse inflicted by the blade, until only one was left. He ran until he couldn't anymore, finding himself alone as he turned around and found no one around him. He was frozen, a sick feeling welled up in his stomach as he heard the wind blow through the trees. All of a sudden, he heard a rustle of leaves, only to look up and see a shadow pounce upon him.

* * *

By the time Ryota caught up with her, he only found the bodies of the soldiers. "Holy hell..." he said wide eyed, looking around. He looked ahead and saw her with her blade in the chest of the last unfortunate man. She stood up and quickly drew it from the corpse of the soldier, walking in Ryota's direction. He could only watch, a bit horrified from seeing the bloody mess she left, as she walked closer to him.

"It had to be done. For our sake." she said as she walked past him. "Plus you should've known this would be what would be expected of you since you're a member now."

He turned around, about to say something until he found the entire group of Night Raid appearing from Akame's direction. Lubbock addressed Akame about the situation concerning intruders, but he stopped midsentence as he saw the bunch of bodies.

"Oh...Well. Forgot you made quick work." he said. "However, where there is one group, there's bound to be more. I thought I felt several trips at different areas around here, but it didn't check out when Leone and I scouted out."

"And to think this is about the third time they try finding our hideout." Mine said, shouldering Pumpkin, she had on a pink eyepiece, as per her attire.

"Maybe they got scared off." Leone said, in her new form, courtesy of her Imperial Arms. Her blonde hair was longer and a bit messy, with lion ears sprouting from her head. Her hands were instead large lion like paws with sharp black claws. Ryota only leaned a bit to his side to see a yellow cat like tail waving behind her. He blinked, thinking what the hell kind of assassin group he was in. Whenever it came to the word "assassin", he usually associated it with stealthy warriors and even though Night Raid possessed those qualities considering their reputation, he still found them to be an odd bunch.

"Well, better to be safe than sorry." Lubbock said.

Akame nodded, agreeing with his suggestion.

"Excuse me."

Everyone looked to Ryota. He cleared his throat, looking to them all. "So now I have a good idea of what you all are. Killers who are doing it for the cause of starting a revolution?" he then chuckled a bit sarcastically. "Well, personally, I think you're all nuts. If you're saying the truth then why don't you show me proof? I only agreed to get my weapon back."

Akame looked to the others. "I don't think he's been to the Capital yet."

"Hell no I haven't been to the Capital, that's where I was headed." Ryota said, obviously pointing out that he could hear her.

Mine smirked. "He can come with and help me with shopping."

Ryota blinked. "...Excuse me?"

"That's right. I can be your subordinate for tomorrow." she said as she removed her eyepiece, only to stop as she felt Bulat's hand on her shoulder, looking up to him.

"Mine, I think he needs to see the true nature of the Capital." Bulat said. "I think Akame should take him on a mission whenever one is called to attention."

Akame looked to Bulat. "Alright." she simply said.

 _"Oh great...I get partnered up with the creepy one for the second time..."_ he thought with a sick feeling in his stomach. The feeling then left and his stomach rumbled. "Oh man." he said.

"What?" Akame asked, who had somehow appeared a few steps in front of him, which made him jump.

"Oh nothing. Just a bit hungry."

"Well it is about lunch time isn't it?" Bulat asked looking up to see the sun almost perfectly center in the blue sky.

"Well, good thing we have a new guy. He can help Akame with lunch while we go search the perimeters again." Lubbock said.

"..." Ryota was silent.

 _"Yet again, I say 'oh great'."_ he thought sarcastically.

As the others left in great speed to check the other areas surrounding the compound, Akame walked ahead of Ryota, leaving him behind with the other bodies. "Whoa! HEY! WAIT UP!" he shouted as he managed to catch up with her. but just midway, he stopped as he saw movement in the trees just above Akame. He saw a glint of what looked like metal as a shadow appeared. He quickly jumped up onto a low hanging branch and climbed up, running across a long branch that led to the tree the shadow was in. He then jumped as he unsheathed his katana, making a quick slice that knocked the person out of the tree and onto the ground.

Akame heard the noise and unsheathed her sword as she saw the figure land and roll right in front of her, revealed to be a soldier who had somehow hid himself in the trees while the others were massacred. She held off attacking due to the fact she saw the man's arm cut, which was beginning to form frost around the wound as he seemed to convulse and shake. Ryota landed beside her with a tumble as his sword stuck into the ground just an few inches away from him.

"Ow...crap." he groaned softly as he coughed up dirt. Akame helped him up, but didn't take her eyes off of the soldier, who seemed to be turning into a statue, spots of bluish white frost appeared on his clothes and mostly on his face as his eyes turned milky white, like a blind man. The man then stopped, frozen in a state of agony as his blood froze internally, stopping his heart.

"Whoa..." he said as he saw the effects, never really watching to see what they did. The only thing he learned about the sword was that it killed with one cut, but he never knew how or what it dealt.

Ryota then used the scabbard of his sword to tap the hand of the corpse, which shattered like glass upon contact. The body had been turned completely into ice.

With witnessing the effects, Akame knew Najenda's hypothesis of the weapon was indeed correct, but this would probably confirm one of the most dreaded thoughts about the sword...

* * *

Later on that day, Ryota was put to work in the kitchen with Akame, chopping up vegetables to cook in a stew, though it consisted more of meat than anything. As he was chopping up an onion, he saw Akame picking out of the bowl of chopped carrots. "Well, now I think I know why they won't let you cook." he said

"I don't know what you're talking about." she said in her monotone as she picked out another slice.

He sighed and continued. "You are not at all a very good liar."

"Well, finish up chopping. We're going to do some hunting later."

He looked to her as he finished with a carrot. "Hunting?" he asked. She nodded in response as she walked off.

" _Finally, something I'm naturally good at._ " he thought.

As she left, he couldn't help but think to himself, pausing as he was finishing. " _Night Raid...I've been inducted into a group of murderers...But if what they're saying is all true, they're bringing about a revolution..._ " he then finished cutting the last carrot into slices, tossing them into a bowl.

"But I'll have to be the judge of that." he said softly. "I'll need to see the supposed corruption of the Capital that they're talking about..."


End file.
